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A recently released report by a state agency shows job creation directly and indirectly related to the Marcellus Shale is taking off.

The state Department of Labor and Industry's Center for Workforce Information and Analysis made public its first "Fast Facts" about Marcellus Shale-related employment. The analysis of workforce statistics shows the natural gas and supporting industries are booming, leading to almost nonexistent unemployment in the northern tier counties of Bradford and Tioga. There's even a drop, although smaller, in unemployment for the Luzerne-Schuylkill counties Workforce Investment Area.

Department of Labor and Industry Spokesman Christopher Manlove said the fact sheet is written in a way to make the information more accessible.

From April 2010 to April 2011, the number of people employed in the mining and logging category, which includes oil and gas drilling, increased 21.6 percent, from 25,500 to 31,000, he said.

"That's a pretty significant increase for that sector," Manlove said.

That's out of a statewide total of 5.7 million non-farm jobs, he said.

"It's a small portion of the jobs count as a whole, but it is far and away the fastest growing," he said.

The report is a welcome affirmation to the Marcellus Shale Coalition, which has been touting the shale's job creation potential. There were 9,000 new hires in the direct Marcellus Shale industry alone in the last five months, the industry group's spokesman Travis Windle said.

"We gave this document a pretty thorough analysis, and the numbers are staggering," he said. "We're certainly heartened by these really positive economic indicators."

The report includes both the core Marcellus Shale industries and what Manlove called the ancillary and supply chain industries.

"It's not just guys working on drilling rigs," Windle said. "The jobs and the economic impact will not be exclusive to those areas where production is under way."

Although there hasn't been any drilling activity in Luzerne County since two exploratory natural gas wells by Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. turned up dry, there has been some Marcellus Shale-related job creation locally.

For example, Linde Enterprises, which performs a number of services for the natural gas industry including preparing well pads, is in the process of hiring 300 people and moving from Wilkes-Barre to new headquarters in Pittston's O'Hara Industrial Park. As another example, the engineering firm of Borton-Lawson recently added 20 employees due to Marcellus Shale development.

Growth in the core industries affects growth in the support industries like trucking and hospitality, Manlove said. Industry growth in the Marcellus Shale play creates employment opportunities elsewhere, and growth within the shale play provides opportunities not only in that region, but across it, he said.

Windle said Marcellus Shale Coalition's position is that as drilling expands, "not only in the northern tier but across the entire Commonwealth, we will continue to see similar job growth numbers for the years to come."

Some people say the jobs won't last, but Windle said that's not true. He said it's also "absolutely critical" to realize the Marcellus Shale is the world's second-largest natural gas field.

"This is a generational undertaking and commitment," he said. "This field is going to be producing clean-burning, American produced natural gas for the next 50 years."

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

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